Contents

History

Past

Before joining the church, Nathaniel was a torture master in Novigrad who especially enjoyed hurting women. He eventually joined the Church of the Eternal Flame and was appointed supervisor of the city morgue. He was hated by his subordinates, especially Hubert Rejk whom he rammed a scalpel into the back for the minor offense of forgetting to lock the storage room.

During her escape from Novigrad, Ciri ran over Nathaniel who sent the temple guards after her. The guard caught Dandelion but Ciri escaped.

Murders in Novigrad

When Hubert Rejk murdered citizens of Novigrad which he considered blasphemers, he tried to pass the blame on Nathaniel by leaving a letter with an adress on of of his victims. Following the letter, Geralt arrives at a brothel where he finds Nathaniel who maltreat one of the prostitutes with a brand. Geralt can either kill Nathaniel, falsely believing him to be the killer, or stay his hand and listen to Nathaniel who professes his innocence. Should he listen to Nathaniel, the two men realise that they have been played by Rejk and Nathaniel tells Geralt where to find him.

However, he then turns to the prostitute to continue his sarcastic torture. Geralt can allow this to happen, kill Nathaniel, or (with Axii on level 3) force Nathaniel to leave the brothel and never return.

Journal entry

Reverend Nathaniel, supervisor of the city morgue and cleric of the Church of the Eternal Fire, was a man with a vile character – and a stormy past. Before donning the frock he had served for years as the city torturer.

One would be hard pressed to find a more inferior candidate for a pastor than a former hangman – but, as the saying goes, in Novigrad anything is possible.

To say Geralt caught Nathaniel red-handed would be an ill-considered pun. Yet though the situation Geralt found him in clearly proved Nathaniel was a cruel sadist, it did not prove he was a serial killer. Geralt kept a cool head and decided the priest was not the man he was after.

Nevertheless, Geralt still felt Nathaniel deserved death. At times I have thought Geralt too eager to play judge, jury and executioner – but this time, I took no issue with his actions.